I found this job that looks super interesting and I am qualified for! I have been going back and forth about wanting to go back to work but now I feel like I should apply. Even if I don't even get an interview I think it's about time to update my resume and cover letter and start getting my mind back in the game.

Does anyone have an advice? Do I list my maternity leave on my resumes or just mention it in a cover letter? And how should I do that? I was thinking something like, " after spending the last 18 months focused on my family I am interested in returning to the work force". Also, do any of you know of career counselor type people that help you write a cover letter? I've never felt like mine have stood out and I really want to make sure that when I find positions that I am interested in I at least have a shot!

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 5874Location: United States of New England

i have no experience with this but will be in your position later in my life.i would mention maternity leave somewhere on your resume or cover letter otherwise it will look like you sat around on your asparagus for however long. i know for a fact that interviewers would ask what you did with that time. a big gap of unemployed time will be of interest to an employer as to WHY you were unemployed.things might be different now that so many people are unemployed that maybe it's sort of par for the course on a resume but i think typically a large chunk of time unemployed makes a potential employer question what you were doing. and of course maternity leave is an excellent answer!

i might put it in my resume even though it seems like a strange place for it only because i remember at my last job i dont think anyone ever read cover letters.

So I started applying for jobs when E was about 15 months old and had my first interview when he was about 1.5. The first thing any interviewer asked me about was that gap. Despite the fact that I work in a very male dominated field, pretty much everyone I've interviewed with was like "oh yeah sure" when I told them that's what I'd been up to. I wouldn't put it on my resume but I would (and have, sometimes) mentioned it in passing in my cover letter.

have you been doing anything to keep your job skills sharp? If not can you start now? Employers seem to like to hear "I wasn't working, but I was taking a class that's relevant to this job/volunteering somewhere/working on a personal project/whatever."

Not specifically maternity related, but I entered the workforce after taking a year off to help with my mother before she died. I didn't put it on my resume, but the gap was obvious, so I addressed it in the coverletter. Every interviewer asked me about it, and it didn't seem to hurt me at all. I applied a bunch of places and got offers from several.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

C&s, I am glad to hear that since we live in a similar issue, my field is mixed, but many time dominated by women, well the nonprofit side anyway. I think people here don't really have a problem with you taking time off for kids, it seems like it is encouraged. I haven't done much, organized a farm tour and kept a lot of relationships intact both with farmers and with my former employer. I've kept up to date with developments and a lot of things that are happening in the area, so that helps.

Tofulish, I a also happy to hear you had several offers. I'm not in a rush to find anything, but this just popped up, so we will see!